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Australia midfielder Cristian Volpato has allegedly tested positive for cocaine after being pulled over by police while driving at nearly twice the speed limit in Sydney.
The 22-year-old Sassuolo winger, who was one of the Socceroos’ breakout performers at the World Cup, was stopped on Anzac Bridge at around 1.10am on Friday. Police allege he was driving a BMW Coupe at 109km/h in a 60km/h zone. A roadside drug test returned a positive result for cocaine. New South Wales police confirmed they are continuing the investigation after taking a secondary oral fluid sample for further analysis.
Volpato was issued an infringement notice for speeding and had his international driver’s licence suspended for six months, barring him from driving in New South Wales. He has not been charged with a criminal offence.
The incident was not isolated. Police allege Volpato was also stopped on the same bridge roughly two hours earlier, at around 11.05pm on Thursday, and received an infringement notice for driving more than 20km/h over the speed limit. A roadside breath test conducted at that stop returned a negative result for alcohol.
Volpato was born in Australia to parents of Italian descent, with Italian-born grandparents on both sides. He developed through the academies of Sydney United, Sydney FC, and Western Sydney Wanderers before relocating to Italy to join Roma‘s youth set-up.
He made 14 senior appearances for Roma, scoring twice, before a £6.4m transfer to Sassuolo. He has recorded seven goals across 72 appearances for the Neroverdi. Having represented Italy at under-19 and under-20 level, Volpato switched his international allegiance to Australia ahead of the World Cup.
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